Wednesday, October 31, 2018

What to Expect at November's First Friday and Thursday Preview

If the weather continues cooperating (it was close to perfect at the time of this writing) then November’s contribution to the First Friday circus might be one of the most pleasant of 2018. And while it might not pack the punch of festival-fueled March or September, this month is an ideal time to catch up on what you might’ve already missed this fall — such as Blue Star Contemporary’s sprawling group exhibition “Monarchs: Brown and Native Contemporary Artists in the Path of the Butterfly” and solo shows highlighting the work of Houston-based Adriana Corral, French video artist Sylvie Blocher and San Antonio’s own Jesse Amado (free, 10am-8pm Thu, 10am-9pm Fri, Blue Star Contemporary, 116 Blue Star, bluestarcontemporary.org).

Over at UTSA’s offsite Terminal 136, Michigan native Eden Collins’ MFA thesis exhibition “Sometimes I Play with Myself” delivers what one might imagine from its title: a multimedia installation that “sets the table for a universal conversation on sexuality and its maturation” and transforms the gallery into “a hedonist’s playground” (free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, Terminal 136, 136 Blue Star, art.utsa.edu).

FL!GHT Gallery continues to break in its prime new digs with “Every Little Piece,” a showcase of nature and wildlife drawings by illustrator and designer Hilary Rochow. Arrive early to partake in “autumnal treats” (free, 6-10pm Thu-Fri, FL!GHT Gallery, 112 Blue Star, facebook.com/flightsa).

And just off the Blue Star campus in the heart of Southtown, fan favorite Presa House Gallery welcomes Brownsville-based painters Jesse Burciaga, Josie Del Castillo and Alejandro Macias for “Different Skin,” an exhibition that explores “identity, culture, body image and their experiences living in the Rio Grande Valley” and is presented in tribute to their shared mentor Carlos G. Gomez, a late UT-Brownsville professor from Mexico City who spent three decades teaching art in the Valley. At the First Friday reception: beats by DJ Electric Messiah and live music by Austin-based “contemporary synth-cumbia” quartet Como Las Movies (free, 6pm-midnight Fri, Presa House Gallery, 725 S. Presa St., presahouse.com).

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